Attorney Used Legal Visits to Smuggle Drugs Into Rhode Island Detention Center
By Tiffany Williams –
A Massachusetts attorney, Theresa Marie DiJoseph, aged 51, has been sentenced to a three-year probation period for her involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle contraband into the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center in Rhode Island.
The sentencing, announced by Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom, mandates that DiJoseph spend the first six months of her probation in home confinement, monitored by GPS tracking, in addition to completing 100 hours of community service.
DiJoseph pleaded guilty on March 12, 2025, to several charges: one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance analogue, one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and one count of providing a prohibited object to an inmate. U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose presided over the sentencing that took place shortly after her guilty plea.
In her plea, DiJoseph confessed to participating in a conspiracy aimed at smuggling ten sheets of paper impregnated with K2, a potent synthetic marijuana, into the Wyatt Detention Center. This activity occurred in late 2023, where DiJoseph, leveraging her position as an attorney, met multiple times with detainee Shawn D. Hart, 47, who was not only a client but also someone with whom she had a personal relationship. These interactions took place in a designated attorney visit room where legal consultations are conducted, a setting that she exploited for illicit purposes.
On December 1, 2023, during a scheduled visit with Hart, DiJoseph was apprehended by correctional officers at the Wyatt facility. They discovered the ten sheets of paper in her possession, which appeared abnormal—discolored, thicker than regular paper, and showing signs of being wet and subsequently dried. The papers were sent to an FBI testing laboratory, where they were confirmed to contain Schedule I controlled substances, reinforcing the severity of her actions. Additionally, DiJoseph acknowledged that she made false statements to the FBI during their investigation concerning the origins of the contraband.
